Video chat: Robin Waterfield on Plato

Episode 1 of "Meet the Greco-Romans"

Robin Waterfield

Dear Readers,

With this newsletter I begin an occasional series of video chats with authors and translators who have written about the philosophy, culture, and history of the Greco-Roman tradition. I hope you’ll enjoy them!

Cheers,
Massimo

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In this episode of “Meet the Greco-Romans” I talk to Robin Waterfield, one of the top scholars and translators of Greco-Roman thought.

Robin was born in England in 1952, and received a traditional British private education, which instilled in him a lifelong love for the Classics, and especially Greek.

He had began an academic career path when, in 1982, Mrs. Thatcher’s government decided there were too many lecturers in ‘unimportant’ subjects such as Classics, and he was made redundant.

Robin worked on and off for Penguin publishing house, first as a copyeditor and then as a consulting editor, but decided that his heart was set on pursuing a writing career.

In 2005 Robin chose to leave Britain. He now lives with his wife Kathryn in the rural far south of Greece, where as well as writing he has a small olive farm, producing organic olive oil. Late in 2020, a few weeks before Brexit, he gained Greek citizenship.

Robin and Kathryn’s olive farm in southern Greece

Here is a partial list of recommended books by Robin (most recent on top):

• Plato of Athens: A Life in Philosophy

• Olympia: The Story of the Ancient Olympic Games

• Creators, Conquerors, and Citizens: A History of Ancient Greece

• Who Was Alexander the Great? (with Kathryn Waterfield)

• The Greek Myths: Stories of the Greek Gods and Heroes Vividly Retold

• Why Socrates Died: Dispelling the Myths

• Xenophon's Retreat: Greece, Persia, and the End of the Golden Age

• Athens: A History, From Ancient Ideal to Modern City

And here is our video chat: